The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, November 19, 2007 - 5A That's one sultry stare. Ater Britney Spears's well-hyped but tragi- comic return to the MTV Video Music Awards last month, ruminations on her new album were bleak. It's difficultto divorce a prospective minimal-pop gem Britney ("Gimme More") SpearS from an artist's shambly perfor- Blackout mance, not to live/Zomba mention current tabloid escapades. But since Blackout first leaked in mid-October, prompting an ear- lier release date, the album has received a surprising number of positive reviews and hit No. 1 on both European and U.S. pop charts. And it's not just the devoted or the delusional making Blackout a suc- cess; Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, and Rolling Stone three-and- a-half stars. The album is more or less the expected progression from 2003's Clutch producers pad a solid pop album By Kimberly Chou Associate Arts Edtior In the Zone: slick production now generously heaped on, with more tracks mixed by Bloodshy & Avant (the duo behind karaoke-wonder "Toxic") and Timbaland-protage Nate "Danja" Hills. In the past four years, Spears has acquired more public and personal drama for lyrical fodder, although Blackout denotes less co-writing credit. In terms of message, it's as if the past four years - the Kevin Federline marriage, the babies, the head-shav- ing - didn't even happen. Blackout may be the wizened older sister of In the Zone, but that doesn't mean it likes to party any less. And if its aim is solely to be a club-friendly dance album, the fact that the lyri- cal content isn't Pulitzer-inspiring is negligible. There's one obviously Feder- line-centric track ("Why Should I Be Sad": "I sent you to Vegas with a pocket full of paper / And put no ultimatums on you/... Onlybrought the player out of you") disguised as a slinky closing jam, and some too- confident, too-awkward rapping about the same on "Toy Soldier." But other than that, Spears seems to be looking toward a future of liv- ing single, and some of this shit is more boastful than a Kanye album, the lyrics equally abysmal. "Hot As Ice," with its laser-tag production effects and the brooding "Break the Ice," are both about Spears's "mak- ing you feel hot-hot-hot-hot" and how she's "cold as fire / hot as ice." Her new man-hunting confidence is especially heavy on the swishy "Radar," where it sounds like Bloodshy & Avant have been lis- tening to a lot of Rihanna. The duo drops "Tainted Love"-style metal- lic raindrops into multi-tracked vocals and fits of rising synthesizer. In accompaniment, Spears lets her subject know he's "on her radar" in a voice so aggressive it's almost threatening - but counters with childish da-da-das in the outro. What elevates most of these tracks is their finish. Somehow, the producers manage to transform most of the so-so songwriting into potential club staples. Take the Danja-helmed "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)." It's overproduced, though not as slick as a Timbaland cre- ation, but it still gives the track the necessary oomph. Danja's guest vocal slurs into a bizarre Sesame Street Count/Barry White exag- geration, leering, "I got a plan we can do it / Just when you want it baby, baby, baby" over cut-up key- See BRITNEY, Page 8A ld English for the'300'set By BLAKE GOBLE Wildly muscular and loud DailyArts Writer in high-octane computer-ani- mated form, the titular charac- "Beowulf" maybe the partici- ter (voiced by Ray Winstone of patory blockbuster of the year, "The Departed") also has plenty even if that's not quite what its more to brag about in this ver- creators intended. As the film sion, courtesy of director Robert goesin,itsvalue Zemeckis ("Who Framed Roger to the audience ,* Rabbit?"). When he first comes becomes clear: onto the screen, he's presented in "So, like, Be 1f the most absurd fashion possible. remember Camera swooping stably through when Beowulf At Quality16 a harsh storm, Beowulf leads his killed those and Showcase men forward to Denmark. Strong sea monsters? Paramount and assured, he's a lofty, almost That was cool. goofily dominate presence. He And remem- screams "The sea is my mother!" ber when he fights Grendel buck followed by a haughty laugh. naked, and, like, has to punch his And it's no small thanks to lead ear but can't quite get it until the Winstone's deep, intense voice. end? That was awesome!" Beowulf is one manly dude, and "Beowulf" is that kind of that's the way he's supposed to movie: sequences of noteworthy be. bombast tainted by a last-minute Executed in the expensive, desire tobe poignant. advanced motion-capture com- For those of you who dozed puter- animation of "The Polar in high school lit, the Old Express," the film marks another English epic "Bewoulf" has a small step in deleting human simple structure told in three actors entirely, a process cham- stages: Beowulf battles Grendel. pioned by the likes of Cameron Beowulf confronts Grendel's and Lucas. But the film doesn't mother. Beowulf fights a dragon. fancy itself a novelty product - it They're all in the movie, but has emotions to kindle. this isn't really anything like the Those emotions, out of place "Beowulf" you know. Early in the and poorly developed, are the film, in a totally gratuitous flash- film's largest misstep. The back sequence, Beowulf gets to unnecessary shift in tone in the boast his past abilities in killing last act, after Beowulf sleeps a series of sea monsters. Hmm, with Grendel's mother (played don't remember that. All right, so with instant camp by Angelina he kicks Grendel's ass completely Jolie) and is suddenly morose nude after watchinghis mates get and longing to leave his pleasur- laid to waste. Oh yeah, that's not able life on Earth, leaves cold an how it goes in the poem, either. audience trained on the rapid- At least they have the scene from motion bloodlust of the film's the poem where Beowulf sleeps early scenes. If the point of the with Grendel's sexy mother done third act is that pride is a curse, right. Wait ... a sex scene? then let's stay cocky. It's more But what "Beowulf" totally fun that way. lacks in respect and authentic- Still, taken as comedy or over- ity it completely makes up for the-top action - or even a big "eat in machismo fantasy spectacle. me" to classical lit - "Beowulf" Ironic and self-consciously epic, is successful entertainment, "Beowulf" is a classical romp in pure and simple. Brimming with the most contemporary sense pot shots at Catholicism, mascu- possible. And created on the linity and pride, there may not be foundation for modern fantasies much substance here, but there's like "The Lord of the Rings," the a huge mass of hot air to keep the first hour is really great. film off the ground. Latest 'Hawk' worst in the series By PAUL TASSI Whenyou hold "A,"you no longer Daily Film Editor get into a crouching position before you ollie, a fact that the other nine You don't crouch. games realized was necessary to After a countless "Tony Hawk" maintain any semblance of realism. games involving playable charac- This flaw speaks volumes about ters like Darth the rushed nature of "Tony Hawk: Maul and Wolver- Proving Ground." Sprinting to mar- ine, the ability to Tony Hawks ket to compete with other "realis- grind the length Proving tic" skate sims like "Skate," not only of an entire roller- Gr d are there glitches and shoddy game coaster and hav- roun play, but they also forgot to include ing enough air to Xbox 360 little things like "fun" or "creativ- invent tricks like Neversoft ity" in the final product. the "720 double "Proving Ground" claims to be backflip kickflip all about choice. Three choices, stalefish, impos- specifically - three career paths sible," you'd think the series' new- your skater can choose with three found approach to realism would've alternate endings to the game. You brought about a few changes. can find fame and glory as a pro, get You don't crouch. street cred as a hardcore skater or create mind-blowing trick spots as 51? You knew each of these better a rigger. Each of these sounds great. than your own parents' faces after Unfortunately, once you start play- playing "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" ing them, it's like having to decide for 12 hours a day back when the between driving off a cliff, a bridge series was good. Now there's something unneces- sary called "a plot" which involves A. classic your skater meeting with other pro skaters who just happen to be in underm ined by Philly and just happen to want to make you famous. All the conversa- misguided work. tions are roughly along the lines of, "Hey br, sick set!" "Thanks bro!" "Bro, you should totally skate in my sick demo later." "Whoa bro, that'd or the top of a parking garage. be sick!" The only sounds skaters Set in a very gray-looking Phila- need tobe making in this game are delphia, the level design is exten- the grunts and moans when they sive, but it makes you wonder hit the base of a concrete fountain what happened to actual "levels." going 30 miles an hour. Remember the Warehouse? Area See HAWK, Page 8A Overheard in AA, football turkey style 'Chuck' loses steam, not potential By KIMBERLY CHOU AssociateArtsEditor .- - hio State weekend acts in wild and bizarre ways on people. Crazy shithappens - a lot of it. In a tribute to the excellent overheard in New York website and to how The Game transcends a sim- ple Saturday afternoon, here's a "seen and overheard edition post-Michi- gan/OSU game + pre-Thanksgiving weekend" edition of High Society. Before the game Seen on State Street: A guy lit an Ohio State sweatshirt on fire, threw it off his apartment balcony then peed over the balcony to extinguish said sweatshirt. Beautiful. Seen on Arch Street: Someone in a fake army outfit stopping cute girls from passing because they "looked underage." After the game I love walking down Maynard Street. The closeness ofAmbrosia and Scorekeepers makes for some amaz- ing people watching, especially when the worlds of hip-oisie and dude col- lide. Overheard in Ambrosia, post-OSU game. Two guys in Michigan gear walk in. They order espresso, for the first time: "How do you drink it? Do you just chill with it - do you kill it?" Then they start "flirting" with indie-looking girls by the window. (Such ironic eyewear!) Another patron is offended by their behav- ior. The girls are irked. The guys are drunk and oblivious. Following are highlights: Bro 1 (to the girls, in regards to the offended patron): "He's mad, he's mad!" Bro 2: "He's mad because we're saying you're sexy." Bro 1: "But your thick glasses are sexy" Bro 2: "Don't get fresh, don't get mad!" Bro 1 (to the other patron): "I'm saying we're leaving. I'm just saying these girls are cute - and you're an angry little person on the couch." Bro 2: "Oh, I'm not trying to be like 'What's your name? Where do you live?' ... We're not breaking knee caps!" Later, a cab driver to one of the See SOCIETY, Page 8A ByALEX ERIKSON Daily Arts Writer NBC's "Chuck," despite its clear poten- tial in the first few episodes, has lost its initial charm. Theshow follows aprototypicalaverage guy, Chuck (Zachary Levi), as he is sud- denly thrust into the life of a CIA agent when his Chuck former roommate (also a CIA agent) sends him Mondays a top secret e-mail upon at 8p.m. his death. Although its NBC plot extends over multi- ple episodes, each show delves into its own subplot. The show seems like it could go on forever - at least until the writers run out of assembly-line villains, or viewers get tired of the pre- dictable storylines. As the main character, Chuck has advanced little over the course of the first season, while supporting roles have become more developed in the first eight episodes. Morgan, Chuck's best friend, and Ellie, Chuck's sister, once rivals for Chuck's attention, have befriended one another in Chuck's absence. In the Hal- loween episode, Ellie's boyfriend walked out naked in front of Chuck and joked that he was dressed as Adam. This is in marked shift to the pilot episode, where the humor relied on facetiously delivered events so ridiculous they were funny. The most recent episode has also explored the foundations of the fake relationship between Chuck and Sarah COURTESY OF NBC More fodder for the Writers Guild strike? (Yvonne Strahovski). The two have been operating under the guise that they are in a serious relationship as a cover for their covert CIA/NSA operations. The problem is that Chuck has needs Sarah isn't fulfill- ing. The minor sub-plots of "Chuck" have added depth to the show. Still, the more dramatic plot points have watered down the show's humor, which is common for dramedies looking to find a balance. To remain believable, drama is essential, but the show risks losing fans drawn to it by the quirky comedy of the first few epi- sodes. More recent plot points have also become predictable. In each episode, NSA agent John Casey (Adam Baldwin), Sarah and Chuck encounter a new villain in search of Chuck's knowledge, attempt to find out how they can keep the villain from getting what he wants, eventually catch the villain and keep him from doing any more evil. It gets repetitive. Although the pilot seemed particularly promising, less than halfway through the first season the show already needs to shake things up. It needs to revamp its direction and stabilize its identity to ensure a lasting run. Though "Chuck," as with many non- reality programs, will be unable to com- plete its first season on time because of the writer's strike, it still has potential. The time off could offer the writers a new perspective on the show, sending it in a new direction. We may have to wait, but "Chuck" isn't done yet.